Neighbors
by RandomActsOfSambriel
Summary: A human!Gabriel normal life!Sam apartment!au Sam Winchester, fresh out of college, was living happily in his apartment, until he met his neighbor who seemed only there to amuse him. Gabriel Novak, an art major, just couldn't live his life knowing someone didn't like him. Sabriel / Sambriel ; Bits of Destiel too.
1. Chapter 1

Something was crawling across his feet, something scaly and scary. It was time for sleep not time for terror, but if there was going to be sleep in Sam's near future he was going to have to get rid of the nasty, terrifying, whatever that seemed to like crawling on his feet.

Carefully Sam turned on the lamp, then screamed, kicking the nasty across the room into the corner where it stayed twitching. He grabbed the bat he kept next to his bed for protection and went to the corner. He poked the nasty and it started to crawl away, but did so miserably with two legs broken. The second it started moving, Sam started beating it with the bat.

Don't go around thinking Sam was a wimp. He was tired as it was 2:00 In the morning, and he was a bit tipsy from hanging out with his friends and girlfriend at the bar just a few blocks down the street.

The room was dim, the only source of light being the lamp on the opposite side of the room. Sam beat the unidentifiable nasty until he was sure it was dead. By now it looked like roadkill, and left a mess on the carpet, but it was too late to do anything, and honestly Sam didn't really care. He just wanted to get some sleep.

When Sam woke up, that night's events came flooding back to him. He jumped out of bed to observe the nasty he'd killed. He sighed in relief, it was only a small lizard. Then he paused. Why the fuck had there been a lizard in his bed? He figured this was something to ask his landlord, so he didn't give it too much thought.

A disgusted look appeared on his face when he realized he'd have to pick it up. Sam searched desperately around his apartment for gloves or a paper towel, because God knows he wasn't going to touch it with his bare hands. He ended up using toilet paper. Sam picked it up by what he thought might be the tail and went out to his balcony to drop the lizard down into the alley, when a voice stopped him, "You killed her!"

You see, when the people were building these apartments, someone messed up. Two buildings were too close together, so there was only . About six inches between Sam's balcony and the balcony for the other building's resident.

"I what?" Sam asked.

"You killed Bertie! I mean I had no emotional connection to her. I only found her yesterday. But she had a name and probably a family. Imagine her babies and her mate all upset because Mommy never came home! Because you killed her!" A man on the opposite balcony exclaimed.

"Then why was it in my bed?" Sam asked. "And if you were so concerned about its family why'd you take it from where ever you found it?"

"She's a her not an it. And I don't know, she was cute. I guess I lost her though... but I could have sworn I closed my back door. Damn Bertie is a sly one."

"So you do have a connection. You did name her. I'm sorry I killed her." Sam said genuinely sorry.

"She doesn't mean anything to me. I said I had no emotional connection to her. I don't even want a lizard, I've got my cat Copernicus. Lizards are nasty creatures, why would God even create something so disgusting? I don't even know why I picked her up. Maybe she looked cute, but im dumb and I got her killed. Oh man! I'm a terrible person. Leave me to soak in my mise-"

"You are rambling." Sam said cutting him off.

The man blushed. "Sorry, I get that way sometimes..."

"Me too, but only around people I'm attracted to." Sam said, the man blushed again. "Oh."

"I'm Gabriel by the way. Gabriel Novak. Sorry about the lizard." He said extending his hand.

Sam dropped Bertie into the alley, then took Gabriel's hand, "Sam Winchester, sorry for killing her." Gabriel smiled at Sam, then went back into his apartment.

Sam didn't realize this wouldnt be the last of Gabriel he saw. Of course they were neighbors, but he didn't think they'd keep in contact; just a 'Hi how are you?' when they were both on their balconies.

But that of course never happened. Once Gabriel enters someone's life, he stays whether either of them likes it or not. Sam didn't mind all that much, just as long as there weren't unidentifiable nasties crawling all over his feet.


	2. Chapter 2

The next time Sam encountered Gabriel was actually on his own accord. It was cliched really, Sam needed sugar. He should have just gone to the store, but he'd gotten most of the ingredients mixed together and the oven was already on. So maybe Sam was being a bit lazy, but it was Jessica's birthday tomorrow and she'd probably be upset if he didn't make her a cake.

Gabriel seemed like the most obvious person to ask. He was close and judging by type of music he played loud at 3:00 in the morning, he obviously had enough sugar for everyone in their entier apartment complex. Some might say it was an excuse to talk to Gabriel, but if you ever said that to Sam he would say he just needed to finish the cake for his girlfriend.

Sam didn't realize how big of a mistake it would be to ask Gabriel for the sugar until it was too late. The curtain to Gabriel's backdoor was pulled aside and the lights were on inside his living room. The situation seemed safe enough, until Sam knocked.

A few minutes later Gabriel appeared in the doorway wearing only a pair of blue booty shorts and a girl peeking around the corner holding a blanket to cover her body. "Yes, Sam?" Gabriel asked blowing stray hairs out of his face.

"Oh, uh, I didn't realize you were, uh, preoccupied. Sorry." Sam said, a blush filling his cheeks.

"It must have been important for you to come all the way over here." Gabriel smirked. "I wouldn't have stopped what I was doing," He nodded back to the woman in the corner, "For just anyone."

"N-no, no, go back to your activities. I'll just, uh, just leave now." Sam stuttered, turning away and easing himself back over the railings.

"Suit yourself." Gabriel said sliding his door closed.

Sam glanced back one last time before entering his apartment. He was met with the clear image of the girl, who was grinding into Gabriel, her hands roaming everywhere she could get them. As Gabriel slid his tongue from her ear down to her collar bone, he caught Sam's eye and winked. Sam's mouth dropped open and he blushed even harder, rushing back into the safety of his home.

Once inside he shut the backdoor and closed the curtain, Sam wanted to keep his retinas in tact. The image of Gabriel and the woman was etched into his eyelids. He was positive he was going to have nightmares for a long time. Sam turned off the stove, put the bowl of almost cake batter into the sink, and grabbed his keys. Jess was just going to have to deal with a store bought cake.

Later that week, on a particularly warm day, Sam left his backdoor open while he was reading. He started one chapter, and by the end of the next he realized there was a cat sitting in his lap. "Oh hello there." He cooed, scratching underneath its chin. The cat was purring and snuggled deeper into Sam's lap.

Honestly he probably should have been worried about possibly contracting rabies or something, there were no tags or collar around its neck, but something in his gut told him this cat was safe. Another clue to the cat mystery was Gabriel, who was standing in the doorway of his backdoor. "You've got my cat."

"So I don't have to worry about diseases?" Sam asked, "Or should I be even more concerned?"

Gabriel scoffed, "No. She has all of her shots." he said. Then he mumbled, "She never cuddles with me like that."

"Maybe she doesn't like you."

"Everyone likes me, therefore you, sir, are wrong." He stated.

Sam raised an eyebrow, "Who said _I_ like you?"

A hurt look shone across Gabriel's face for a moment before going back to the way it had been, Sam almost felt bad. "Can I just have my cat back please?"

"No one is stopping you from taking her." Sam said. Gabriel grabbed Copernicus, doing so his hand brushed against Sam's upper thigh accidentally. Sam jerked his leg to the side and Gabriel blushed a bright red. He stood up straight, adjusted is grip on his cat and walked back out the door.

Gabriel hadn't actually ever been told to his face that someone didn't like him. Sure people would get annoyed with him, but who didn't? They just kept their irritation to himself. Even his old exes hadn't said they hated him. They called him a dick, and an asshole, but never had the words 'I hate you" slipped out of their mouths. For some reason he needed Sam to like him, at least a little bit.


	3. Chapter 3

Gabriel was an artist, at least that's what he majored in. He had yet to hear the public's opinions of his art though. His work was adequate, at least that's what his professor had told him. His classmates often talked about how strange he was, saying he was unconventional because he used spray pain and air-brushes compared to their acrylics, pencil, and chalk.

Gabriel had a large canvas outside on his balcony along with a large array of colors and his air-brushes. About a fourth of the way through his painting he noticed how colorful his balcony now was. Paint splatters were everywhere and it looked pretty, but he doubted his landlord would enjoy it as much as he did.

"Whatcha doing?" Sam called out from his back door.

"Painting."

"I figured, you kinda got my deck a little." Gabriel's eyes widened and he shoved the canvas aside to see Sam's balcony. It was much like his own deck, but much worse. The splatters were much larger and only on the left side of his balcony. Instead of the rainbow of colors on Gabriel's deck, Sam's were only blue, purple, and silver.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! Uh, I can clean it up. Just give me a minute to clean myself up and then i can get your balcony." He said rushing to clear out his air brush.

Sam laughed, "Nah, it's alright. I kinda like it."

"Are you sure? I can get it off. I'm sort of an expert at getting paint off of things." Gabriel pressed.

"It's fine. Gives my balcony personality. A Gabriel original."

Gabriel was still wary, "Well, I guess when you move out I can pay the fine for damaging the property."

"If it'll help you sleep at night." He said. "Can I see what you are painting?"

"Nope. Nah. Nuh-uh. Not until I'm done!" Sam pouted.

"Oh, put the puppy eyes away, they won't work on me. After living with my brother for 13 years, I'm immune." Gabriel said pulling out his own puppy eyes.

'Ugh," Sam groaned. "I really hate you sometimes." he said and went back inside.

Gabriel was still working on his painting when the sun set and when it was rising again. He was so focused he didn't realize the sun had even disappeared until Sam was standing on his porch with wet hair and new clothing. "You look like shit." He stated.

"Gee thanks. Why are you wet? Wait, is it morning?" Gabriel asked.

"Uh, yeah." Sam said giving Gabriel a strange look.

"Shit, what time is it?"

"Around 7:30ish why?"

"God damn it! I'm late for work!" Gabriel shouted rushing to cap the paints and put his air-brush back in its box, all while trying to scrub off the paint from his arms.

Sam was unsure of what he could do to help the frantic little man. Gabriel really did look awful, he had bags under his eyes, and his hair was a mess. There were paint smears all along his body, and Sam was sure he noticed a large purple stain on the back of his neck. Gabriel was rushing around his house half dressed, a toothbrush in his mouth, and one shoe on mumbling to himself, "I've got to walk too, I'm so stupid"

"I could drive you if you want." Sam said standing in the threshold of Gabriel's back door.

Gabriel paused, looking up at Sam with surprise, "Could you?"

Sam shrugged, "I wouldn't have offered if I was busy."

A look of relief flooded Gabriel's face, "Thanks." He said, and continued frantically getting ready.

He met Sam down in the parking lot. "Seriously thank you." Gabriel said again.

Sam shook his head and smiled, "Just get in the car." He said. "So where am I taking you?" Sam asked once they were inside.

"Right, just down the street to the Local Artist Art Gallery."

The whole ride there was silent except for the sound of Gabriel digging through his bag for his nametag. Sam might have called it a purse if he was to get technical, but if he'd said that out loud Gabriel more than likely would have smacked him with it.

Sam parked next to the curb outside the gallery and as Gabriel was getting out, he stopped him, "Wait, you still have paint on your face." Gabriel rubbed at his cheeks, but missed, "No, here let me." Sam said raising his hand to Gabriel's jaw, and wiped away the purple smear with his thumb, looking into the shorter man's eyes the whole time.

Gabriel bit his lip, "I, uh, I've got to go. You don't have to pick me up or anything." He said blushing. "Thanks, you know, again." Sam smiled and waved him off.

"Ooh, who was that?" Gabriel's best friend and co-worker, Stella asked as he took his seat next to her at the Help/Info desk.

"My neighbor." he replied curtly.

"Come on, you can't tell me there wasn't something there." She said.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "You seem to forget I have a girlfriend."

"That doesn't mean shit!" She exclaimed.

Gabriel ignored her and went into the back room to grab more pamphlets.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry."Stella apologised. Gabriel was shocked by how sincere she sounded. "And I'd never forget about your stuck up girlfriend Kali who never bothers to come visit you here even though she literally works across the street at the stuck up bank with her other stuck up teller friends." And there was the real Stella.

"Kali isn't that stuck up, she's just an independent woman who knows what she wants." He said unconvincingly.

Stella scoffed, "She's just a bitch." Gabriel rolled his eyes, not even bothering to argue.

The rest of the day was quiet, only maybe 25 visitors. Gabriel was supposed to give a tour, but none of the people showed up. "Since I did it yesterday, you have to go empty the donation boxes." Stella said.

There were several different struggling artist's works at the gallery, and at each exhibit there was a donation box for that artist. He or she would get all of the money in that box to help them with their lives. It seemed like a great idea at the time, but hardly anyone donated. The Local Artist Art Gallery was struggling like the artists who's works were shown there.

Gabriel wandered throught the halls, pausing to look at his favorite ones, checking all of the donation boxes along the way. Gabriel needed to see his most favorite painting before heading back to the desk.

"This one is my favorite." Gabriel said walking up to the taller man standing in front of the special painting. Sam jumped, holding his hand up to his chest. "I never saw you come in."

"You were talking to the woman behind the desk with you. Ive only been here for twenty minutes." Sam replied. "Are any of these yours?"

Gabriel laughed lightly, "No, I'm not a struggling artist. And besides, my paintings are no where near as good as these."

"I'd really like to see your paintings. If you still have them, that is."

"I haven't shown them to anyone before,besides my professor, and he didn't like them much."

"Gabriel! You better have not left with the donations like Bela did!" Stella yelled walking down the hall.

"I would never!" He called back, "There weren't any anyway."

"Hello," She said standing next to Gabriel. She stuck her hand out, "I'm Stella, your emotionally challenged neighbor's best friend. You have quite a face." she said elbowing Gabriel, winking at him.

Sam bit his lip, shaking her hand, "Er, thanks?"

"So you two are just neighbors?" Sam nodded, "You aren't special _friends_ or anything?" she asked wiggling her eyebrows.

Gabriel's mouth dropped open, Stella had crossed the line. "Stella! What the fuck?" he yelled.

She looked back at him innocently. "It was just a question." Gabriel growled something incoherent and brushed past Sam, heading back to the front desk.

"Isn't it so much fun to make him angry?" Sam looked back at her incredulously. "Oh don't worry, I didn't mean anything by it. I know he has a girlfriend. He'll get over it." Sam couldn't think of anything to say, so he nodded and headed towards the exit.

Later that night Gabriel knocked on Sam's back door, holding a bag with his paintings in it, including the one he had finished that morning. Sam opened the door, "Hello."

"I'm sorry about Stella. She doesn't have a filter." Gabriel said.

"She is quite something." Sam agreed.

They stood there in silence until Gabriel thrusted the bag towards Sam. "You said you wanted to see my paintings."

"Are these the paintings?" He asked looking down at the bag. Gabriel nodded, "Come in, lets look at them."

Sam sat on his couch, Gabriel sitting next to him. Carefully Sam took the largest canvas out of the bag. He looked at it intently, not criticizing it, but studying it; looking at the details he didn't want to miss. Silently he placed it on the other side of him on the couch, and pulled another out. Gabriel was partially worried, and partially excited, but he was mostly just screaming inside.

Sam went through the whole bag silently, until he got to the last one, the painting Gabriel had finished that morning, when he gasped. "It's beautiful." Gabriel held back a smile. "They are all wonderful, but this one. It's just so beautiful." Sam said unable to tear his eyes away.

"Do you want it?"

Sam looked up suprised, "What?"

"Would you like to keep the painting?" Gabriel said a little louder.

"How much do you want for it?"

Gabriel sighed, "Nothing, I'm giving it to you."

"Bu-"

"If you don't take the painting, I'll burn it." Gabriel said seriously.

An inhumane noise escaped Sam's throat and he hugged the canvas to his chest. "Fine, but I owe you." Gabriel smiled before heading back to his own apartment.

Much to Gabriel's delight, the painting was hanging in just the right spot where Gabriel could see it if the curtains were pulled aside.

The painting a dark silhouette with large silver and golden wings draping from its back. The background was swirling with color, but it seemed to blend together and merge into the silhouette. It truly was beautiful, no one could deny that. And if you asked Gabriel how he came up with the idea, he'd probably wouldn't say he had a not so little inspiration, but that'd be a lie.


	4. Chapter 4

**I know nothing about court cases and the judicial system... so bear with me on this one...**

Gabriel was called for jury duty. He sighed dramatically when he got the letter. Why would he want to sit in a room full of boring people talking dumb legal lingo for a few days over some problem between two people he didn't give a fuck about? Honestly he'd rather eat chalk, but because of his ignorance to file whatever forms were needed to not be called to duty, he had to do what every American was supposed to do sometime in their life. The only upside being that he still got played for the days he'd be spending in the courtroom.

He had to be called to the court to be questioned before he was able to actually be part of the jury. Gabriel was questioned by a man who seemed to have some importance in the courtroom, although he never gave a proper introduction, he radiated of someone who was much higher ranked than Gabriel. He also happened to have a deep monotonous voice that made Gabriel want to rip his ears off.

"Here is a list of the firms, lawyers, defendants, plaintiffs, and other possible jurors. Do any of them seem familiar in a way that would cause you to be bias and unwilling to be fair in this trial?" Gabriel skimmed the paper, it was full of names he'd never heard of before. He'd never needed a lawyer in his adult years, of course none of them were familiar.

"No, I don't know any of these people, although Mary Smith seems a little sketchy."

The man looked at him questioningly, "How so?"

"Her name is so generic and uncreative. What else am I supposed to think?" That comment earned him a glare.

"Enough with your attempts at humor. If you are going to be in the jury then there will be no funny business!" The man snapped.

Gabriel put his hands up in defense, "of course sir. I'll keep my comments to myself."

"This specific case is an attempted murder and if you are squeamish by any evidence that may be a bit disturbing, then I suggest you back out now and be brought back for a less, dare say, offensive case."

Gabriel shook his head. "That is perfectly fine. The more disturbing the better." The man narrowed his eyes.

"If you are not going to back out then be here on Monday morning at 8:30 at the courthouse and be prepared for the trial. Dress business casual. You will be juror number 6. You are free to go now."

Gabriel nodded, rose out of the chair and left as fast as possible.

The weekend blew by quickly, and the next thing he knew, Gabriel was waking up to the sound of his alarm going off at 5:30 in the morning. He groaned, slamming his hand along the nightstand until the alarm stopped beeping. He dragged himself out of bed and into the shower.

He pulled out an old suit from the back of his closet. It was a bit wrinkly and dusty but it worked well enough. Gabriel hadn't had to wear that particular suit since he was eighteen, and hadn't grown much since then. Quickly he dressed and pretty soon the bus dropped him off outside the courthouse.

Gabriel wandered inside and then was ushered into the sixth juror chair. He watched as the courtroom filled up and the judge walked in. The only problem being that the defendant's lawyer never showed up.

"You may all leave for today. We will continue tomorrow and hopefully Mr. Harbour will show up." The judge said. The same thing happened for the rest of the week. Gabriel would wake up at ungodly hours, get dressed up, and wait for a man who wouldn't show. The judge was tired of waiting, as was everyone else, the trial was going nowhere and the defendant was steadily becoming embarrassed. "You have 48 hours to find a new lawyer before your case is revoked." The judge stated getting up, "Until that time everyone may leave."

Sam was excited. This was his first ever case. He'd been working at the firm for over a year and it was about time that they gave him a real case to work. Of course they had to give him an attempted murder case right off the bat. He'd learn the facts, embellish the fuzzy edges, and convince the jury the man was innocent. Sam was so ecstatic that he showed up 40 minutes earlier than everyone else and had to track down the janitor to unlock the courtroom for him.

When Gabriel entered the courtroom and took his seat once again, he noticed Sam murmuring with the defendant over some paperwork, not even five feet from him. He suddenly wished he could be juror number eight so he could hide behind the freakishly tall juror number two.

A loud slam of someone's briefcase caused Sam to look up. He looked up and stopped mid-sentence when he laid eyes on Gabriel. Gabriel blushed and smiled sheepishly looking everywhere but the Winchester. The defendant looked up at Sam, confused by his sudden silence, then followed his gaze to Gabriel.

"Is this some sort of love at first sight thing?" He asked.

"N-no, he just looked familiar." Sam sputtered, shaking his head. The defendant raised an eyebrow but said nothing more. "Now, when anyone asks you any questions, I need you to answer with a simple straightforward answer. Don't give them any extra things for them to question you about."

The security guard next to the judge's chamber stood up, "All Rise!" he ordered.

Everyone stood as the judge walked in and took his seat. "You may all sit. This is the case of Kentucky vs. Crowe."

The prosecutor stepped forward, turned to the jury and started his opening statement.

"March 24, 2014, Mr. Crowe had an argument with his neighbor and boss, Mrs. Murphy, about the amount of money he should be receiving in his paycheck. The next day, March 25, 2014, around 9:30 P.M. Mrs. Murphy made a phone call to the police saying there was someone in her house, and when the police got there, she was knocked unconscious, and unable to identify her attacker. Now, during the investigation they determined she was hit across the back of the head with a trophy from the mantle on her fireplace. Later the next morning the Crime Scene Unit found the trophy hidden in the bushes, behind Mr. Crowe's garage the next morning. I am not insinuating anything at this point, but I do believe the choice will be quite clear to each and every one of you." He said and sat back down.

Sam rose from his seat, "Hello Ladies and Gentleman of the jury, Mr. Winston did state many facts but he has left out a major fact. The trophy was indeed behind Mr. Crowe's garage, but it lacked any fingerprints from Mr. Crowe, only the finger prints of Mrs. Murphy and her family. In fact there were no unaccountable fingerprints anywhere inside Mrs. Murphy's house especially none from my client. But Mr. Winston is correct about this decision being easy to make and by the end of the trial I do think you will have made the right choice." Sam stated returning behind the desk.

Gabriel wasn't paying as much attention as he probably should have been. After a while he started to tune out the awful droning of Mr. Winston's voice, and didn't understand half of what Sam was saying when was paying attention. He was put out by the lack of "I object" and "Order in the court". The testimonies seemed to drawl on and on, and it wasn't an enjoyable experience for someone who was used to being able to get up and move around when he wanted. And right now, all he wanted was for a recess to be called so he could stretch his legs.

It was another three and a half hours before the Judge decided they needed a recess and Gabriel all but jumped out of his seat. He successfully avoided Sam during the recess and once the day was over Gabriel exited the courthouse without so much as a nod to Sam. He knew they weren't allowed to talk about the case outside of the court room, but he wasn't sure if Sam was going to break the rules or not.

Later that night, while Gabriel was eating dinner Sam knocked on the front door, which was odd because it was easier to use the back door. "I know we aren't allowed to say anything." Sam said, "But I was wondering if you wanted a ride to the courthouse tomorrow. You know, cheaper than riding the bus."

He stood there silently, thinking the offer over, before replying. "Don't you need to meet with whatever his name is before?"

"The trial resumes at noon tomorrow. I can drop you off near there and meet up with him. There's plenty of time."

Gabriel bit his lip thinking once more. "Alright. Nine thirty?

"Nine thirty." They shook hands and Sam left back to his apartment.

This was the first time the trial had started later than nine o'clock and Gabriel was glad to have at least another twenty extra minutes of sleep. Once in the car with Sam, they agreed that Gabriel would be dropped off outside the Courthouse and he would find something to do for the next two hours before the trial started.

Gabriel wandered around outside. He wasn't too familiar with this part of town. Sure he had lived there for ten years, but he never really had a reason to visit the area. It was just a bunch of business buildings and sad little coffee shops. Eventually, though, he found a park and sat down on one of the benches, watching a squirrel being chased by a dog. He contemplated just staying there the whole time and missing the trial. It wasn't like his opinion would matter much. To him it was clear the man had attempted to kill his boss, and the other jurors thought pretty much the same.

An hour later Gabriel was at his spot in the jury stands and Sam was pacing around the witness, Mrs. Crowe. "So you are saying that Mr. Crowe was asleep in bed next to you that night?"

"Yes." She said.

Sam nodded, "And are you a light sleeper? Would you have noticed if he got up?"

"Ever since I had my baby, I've been a much lighter sleeper, I notice every noise now."

"And did he get up around Nine o'clock?"

"Not that I recall." She answered.

Sam smiled at her, "Thank you. That's all."

Mr. Winston then got up and stood in front of the defendant's wife. "Is it true, Ma'am, that you did have alcohol in your system that night?"

She blushed. "Well, yes, I had my book club over earlier that night and we shared a bottle of wine."

"I see, now were you hung over the next morning?" He asked.

"I had a bit of a headache, but I wasn't that intoxicated."

"But it is entirely possible that you could have not noticed your husband leave the bed that night what with your judgment impaired."

She fidgeted with her hands. "Yes, I guess that's possible."

"I have no further questions." He said returning behind the desk.

They blew through all of Sam's witnesses, all of his evidence being turned against him. The judge called for a twenty minute recess, and Sam stayed until everyone had left the room before sighing and putting his head in his hands. He knew he was going to lose this case, his first case. Sam was at a loss for how to save the trial, but all of his hope was lost. Sure he would still get paid, but there was no chance the firm would let him work on another case for a while.

Gabriel looked in through the doorframe watching Sam. He wanted to comfort him, but he knew he couldn't. It was bad enough watching Sam get torn apart, he just hoped maybe there was one more thing hidden up his sleeve.

Sam winged all of the questions he had for Mr. Winston's witnesses.

The head investigator was on the witness stand. "So you found a glove matching the same glove you determined was used to hold the trophy in Mr. Crowe's garage?" Mr. Winston asked.

"Yes. It matches and has his DNA and fingerprints inside."

"Thank you sir." He said sitting down.

Sam stood up and stepped forward. "What brand of glove was it?"

"Blue hawk latex garden gloves."

"And could you find these at any store." Sam asked.

"I suppose you could." The man stated.

"So, just to be clear, anyone could have bought those gloves and used them to cover their finger prints on the trophy?"

"Anyone could have."

"Thank you. That is it." Sam said.

The next day they were giving their closing statements. Sam wished they had a lot more time. Or a miracle would show up and allow him to lengthen the case. Of course all evidence pointed towards Mr. Crowe; why wouldn't it? It was obvious even to Sam that he tried to kill his boss.

On the ride home, Gabriel didn't say much to Sam. It wasn't that Gabriel didn't want to talk, he just didn't know what to say. Sam on the other hand wanted to get his mind off of the case. He tried small talk about anything, but nothing worked, and Gabriel stayed quiet.

"Gabe, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing we can talk about." He answered.

Sam sighed. "Is it that obvious how badly we are losing?"

"I really don't actually want to talk about that at the moment, but yes."

"Why are you so adamant on not talking about this? We are going to have to eventually." Sam stated.

"You want to know why?" Gabriel asked. "Alright, fine. It is so obvious you are going to lose. I probably shouldn't say this, but the whole jury thinks he's guilty, including me. And since I know you, I feel like I have this obligation to you, that I have to say he is innocent; that I need to so you don't feel so bad you couldn't convince twelve people that a man didn't attempt to kill someone when he obviously did. You aren't a bad lawyer, you were just given an impossible case. I'm sorry, but it's not something that I feel we need to discuss at this moment."

Sam gripped the steering wheel tighter, before taking a deep breath. "Please don't say he is innocent. And especially don't do it for me. It's just not worth it. So I sucked this time, maybe I'll win the next one. Doesn't matter. Just do what you think is right."

Gabriel looked at Sam, "I'll just be glad when it is over."

"Me too. Winston's voice reminds me of nails on a chalkboard."

"You shoulda heard the lawyer who never showed up! His spoke through his nose and it was monotonous. I would take Winston over him any day!" Gabriel exclaimed.

"Is there some rule I haven't been told about that you need to have an annoying voice to be a lawyer?"

"Who said you don't have an annoying voice?"

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Yours isn't much better."

"I highly doubt that. _My _voice is beautiful." Gabriel said.

Sam came to a stop outside of their apartments and let Gabriel out. "Don't be cocky." Sam called after him.

"Someone's gotta be." Sam watched Gabriel go inside before starting the car up again and pulling his car around the corner.

Sam and Gabriel were talking outside the courtroom, well really Sam was reminding Gabriel of the blender he borrowed a few weeks ago that he had yet to return, when Mr. Crowe came up to them. "I just wanted to thank you for trying to help me." He said. "I know it was a lost cause, hell, I did try to kill her, but I appreciate everything you've done."

Sam smiled politely, "It's my job, but you're welcome.

Mr. Crowe started to walk away then turned back, "You two are boyfriends right? I mean, I remember that moment from before the trial, and you shouldn't let something like that go. Besides you'd be cute together." He said before walking into the courtroom.

"What moment was that?" Gabriel asked.

Sam shrugged, "When I realized you were part of the jury. He asked if it was love at first sight or something."

Gabriel laughed, "Well, after you cute boyfriend." He said gesturing towards the door.

"Oh no," Sam objected laughing a bit, "After you."

Gabriel brought a hand up to his chest. "Awh, my boyfriend is so sweet and such a gentleman too!"

"Only sometimes." Sam said with a wink.

Gabriel kissed Sam's cheek and said, "Good luck." Before continuing through the door and sitting down in juror seat number six.

He shook his head slightly before sitting next to Mr. Crowe to go through his notes for his closing statement.

"My client was trying to enjoy her evening when she was attacked, more than likely by the man in the defendant's chair. He threatened her life by attempting murder over a small thing like the amount on his paycheck. Who's to say he won't do it again with another boss, or after an argument with his wife, or even if his child misbehaves. That man over there is a criminal and I do hope you choose the right decision to put him away where he belongs."

"Mr. Crowe had an argument with his boss over something that is common to argue about. Is it so wrong that he wanted a little more money to support his wife and child? I think everyone has had some trouble like that in their lives. The trophy might have been left there by someone else who also had an issue with Mrs. Murphy, her ex-husband maybe, or another co-worker. This man has a child who he doesn't want to grow up without its father. He doesn't want to miss his child growing up."

The jury went into the back room for twenty minutes and came back out standing in the stands again. The foreman, spoke up. "We, the jury, find Dwight Crowe, guilty on all counts." Mr. Crowe deflated in his seat.

"I sentence you to 14 years in prison." The judge said before standing up and heading back into the judge's chambers.

The bailiffs walked over to him and put him in cuffs. Sam, who honestly had no opinion, started cleaning his papers up and put everything into his briefcase. He walked over to Gabriel and handed him $15. "I gotta get back to the firm so I can't drive you home. I figure this'll be enough to get you back." Gabriel nodded and handed back the ten.

"Five is enough. Thanks."

With a sigh, Sam got in his car and started laughing. He laughed for a good ten minutes, realizing he was probably going crazy. After getting yelled at by his boss, he went back home and got dressed for bed, not caring that it was still 3:30. Sometimes he wished he didn't live alone, and that maybe Jess would move in, it was times like this that he wanted someone who would cuddle up to him and tell him he wasn't as bad at his job as he felt he was. Someone to tell him to continue on with his dream and not give up like he wanted to.

Around seven that night, Gabriel knocked on Sam's back door hoping to return the blender and talk to him, but there was no answer. So he left the blender on the back porch and hoped that it wouldn't rain that night because Sam didn't need any more bad luck.

**that was soo bad wasn't it? I apologize for the terrible court case and will definitely not be doing another any time soon...**


	5. Chapter 5

"Why are you trying to make me learn Russian again?" Sam asked sitting at the kitchen table in Jessica's house.

"Because my boss said if I wanted that promotion then I need to learn Russian! It couldn't be too much different from French right?" Jess explained. "We would get so many more business opportunities and if I get them then I could become a full time partner."

"But why do I have to learn too? It's not my job!" Sam whined.

Jess rolled her eyes. "It's good to be bilingual."

"I already know Latin and it was a pain in the ass to learn. I don't want to even imagine Russian."

"I don't want to learn it by myself! And you are my boyfriend, so you are obligated to learn with me!" She replied pursing her lips.

Sam raised his eyebrows. "I was not aware that I was going to have to learn another language to be date you."

"Don't be a jerk!" Jess said bumping his shoulder with her own.

Sam sighed, "Fine, fine alright, I'll learn." Jessica grinned and opened her laptop.

They spent the next three hours with headphones in their ears, learning the alphabet and the number system while conjugating regular verbs.

"The only thing I remember how to say is семь, but I don't know what it means." Sam said.

Jess grimaced, "Yeah, me neither. This is gonna take longer than I thought."

"How important is this promotion?"

"Life or death." She stated.

"You should probably conjugate more then." He replied. "And while you do that, I'm going to go get us some lunch." She waved him off and put the headphones back on repeating the words я иду.

Sam grabbed his keys off the coffee table and went outside to head off somewhere that didn't involve anything Russian.

...

"C'mon! I want to go see the kittens!" Gabriel exclaimed.

"Will you calm down and let me finish?" Kali asked taking a sip of her drink.

"But you eat so slowly!" Gabriel whined. "It's just a sandwich."

"I know it's a sandwich Captain Obvious. I'm almost done." She replied. After five agonizing minutes Kali still wasn't done.

"I'm gonna go to the restroom." He excused himself from the table. He didn't understand how she could eat so slowly. They'd been in the Subway for almost an hour, and he finished his in ten minutes, the bad thing being her sandwich was half of what his was.

Gabriel didn't actually do anything in the restroom, he just needed to do something besides watch Kali eat. He left the bathroom and ran into Sam standing near the end of the line.

"Hey!" Gabriel said.

Sam looked up from his phone. "Oh hi."

"We run into each other a lot." Gabriel observed. "It's kinda creepy."

"Fine, I'll never leave my house again." Sam said.

"But I see you there too."

"Then my bedroom, I'll never leave my bedroom." Sam replied. "Why are you dressed so nicely?"

"Kali's got a party, gala thing one of her friends from work is throwing. The only reason I'm going is because they are raising money for an animal shelter and there are going to be kittens there." Kali, who had finished, got up and joined Gabriel next to Sam.

"We've got to go or we'll be late." She said grabbing Gabriel's wrist.

He nodded, "Bye!" He called out and allowed her to drag him out of the Subway.

...

Sam got back to Jessica's house twenty minutes later, and he could hear her from the living room.

"Как Вас зовут?" She repeated four times.

He went into the kitchen and sat down across her. "What's that mean?"

"What's your name?" She stated.

"That does seem like an important thing for you to know." He said handing her sandwich to her.

"I'm so done with all of these backwards N's making E sounds, and weird syllables. Sammy I need a hug!" She said laying her head down on the table.

"I'm sorry." He replied placing his hand on hers. "Maybe you should stop for today. We could just watch a movie or something."

Jessica sighed but agreed. "As long as I get to pick the movie. I deserve it after all of the pain I've been through today."

"Fine, just please no Notebook. I don't feel like crying."

Jess stifled a laugh, "No, I was thinking _Back to the Future _or _Ferris Bueller's Day Off_. Something good."

"Of course, I should have known." Sam replied pushing Jess's laptop to the side so they could eat.

After the movie, Sam had to head home, there was work in the morning after all.

"Promise me you won't practice any more Russian until tomorrow." Sam said.

Jess nodded, "I promise." Sam smiled and kissed her goodbye before heading home.

...

Once they got to the banquet hall people instantly surrounded Kali showering her in compliments on her dress, her hair, or her overall beauty like they'd never seen her before in their entire lives. And she was just soaking it up like she needed the complements to survive; like they were her life force. Gabriel was pushed to the side as her friends whisked her away into the party.

Gabriel wandered around, there wasn't a single person that he recognized and he wasn't too good with strangers. He didn't realize Kali would ditch him not even 5 minutes into the party. If he had he probably wouldn't have come.

A man holding a tray of champagne came up to him, "May I offer you a drink?" Gabriel shook his head. There was a huge chance that if he accidentally got himself drunk he'd make a fool of himself and that was something he really didn't want to happen, not again.

He wandered a bit more before realizing there were in fact no kittens whatsoever. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He couldn't care less about everything else, he just wanted the kittens and there were none. Gabriel wanted to go home now. He wanted to leave so he could cuddle his own cat and forget about the lack of kittens that he was promised.

It definitely wasn't as easy to find Kali as it was to lose her, but eventually Gabriel found her sitting at the bar next to a man he'd never met before. She was laughing at something he said. A pang of jealousy shot through Gabriel, Kali never laughed like that with him anymore. He cleared his throat and they both looked up.

"Oh Gabriel! I thought I lost you. I couldn't find you anywhere!" Kali said.

"You didn't seem to be looking very hard." He replied. "Who's this?"

"I'm Baldur Princeton, a co-worker of Kali's." He said sticking his hand out to Gabriel.

Reluctantly Gabriel shook it, "Gabriel Novak."

"Why don't you go mingle, talk about your art or something." Kali suggested.

Baldur perked up, "Art? What kind of art?" He asked.

"Nothing impressive." Gabriel said thinking of how Sam had reacted to his works. "They aren't in any galleries or anything."

"Ah, so you are a struggling artist. Kali you are such a saint taking him under your wing like that." Baldur said. "I'm sure not out of pity or anything."

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. "I'll have you know I am not struggling, I have a perfectly decent life, now if you'll excuse me I think I'll be leaving now."

Kali was embarrassed now. Baldur was being petty, and Gabriel wasn't doing much to stand up for himself. "We took my car honey. And I'm not ready to go." She said pressing her lips together tightly.

"I'll get a cab then." Gabriel said and turned to leave.

Kali got up quickly, accidentally knocking over her empty glass onto the counter. "You are such an embarrassment!" She hissed at him.

"I don't want to be here. So you can stay behind with Baldur and pretend I never came so you won't be embarrassed." He replied angrily.

"You can't leave me here! I'll be the laughing stock of the party."

"Then go home with Baldur."

...

Sam stood under the steady stream of water coming from the shower head. He never wanted to get into the shower, but once he did, he didn't want to come out. Maybe he just secretly enjoyed the long process of shampoo, rinse, repeat. Sam didn't use Axe or whatever manly soap manly men used to clean their bodies. No, he used Herbal Essences Hydralicious mandarin scented shampoo. In his defense, it made his hair nice and soft.

After willing himself out of the shower, Sam heard a knock at the door and groaned. It was 9:30 at night and if it wasn't Jess at the door, then he seriously thought he might hit them. With a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair still dripping he went to answer the door.

The second the door opened Gabriel spoke up. "Saaam, there were no kittens!" He whined. Sam stared at him with a vacant look. "Oh, you're wet. Hmm, well, I see this was a bad time, so I think maybe I should just uh. Yeah, bye."

Sam blinked. "No, no, let me get dressed and then you can complain to be about your kittens." He said before shutting the door on Gabriel. Gabriel pursed his lips and ran a hand through his hair trying to decide if Sam had closed the door to make him leave or if he was actually coming back.

He was about to leave when the door opened by Sam in just some lounge pants. "So what were you telling me?'

'Uh, well there were no kittens, and I might have just broken up with Kali, but I'm not sure what exactly happened. I'm sorry I'm telling you this but I have no one else to tell and I needed to tell someone."Gabriel said in one breath.

"You broke up with her because there were no kittens?"

"Would you forget the kittens? I don't know what happened. All I know is that there is some other guy with a terrible name who is taking her home."

"I'm not sure what to tell you." Sam admitted.

Gabriel sighed. "It's alright, I'm just gonna go home and wallow in my confusion. Thanks though."

Sam shrugged and shut the door behind Gabriel. Right before he went to bed his phone buzzed.

Jess-

Спокойной ночи! Я люблю́ тебя́! 3

Sam-

What does that mean?

Jess-

Good night. I love you! 3

Sam-

Я люблю́ тебя́ too.

...

At home Gabriel changed from his uncomfortable fancy clothes and sat on his couch, his cat in his lap. They fell asleep together cuddled up underneath a fuzzy blanket. When he woke up Copernicus was still right next to Gabriel. "I'm glad you aren't embarrassed of me. You're cool." he whispered nuzzling his face in her fur.

He was glad there was work that day. It would be something to get his mind off of the previous night. Quickly he got ready, so he wouldn't be late again, and left before 8:15.

When he got to the Gallery, Kali was sitting on the bench outside.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

She bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make a scene last night."

"But you did. And what about that other guy?"

"I didn't go home with him. I left soon after you did. I'm sorry."

Gabriel sighed. "I don't know right now. I'm sure not all of it was your fault, but I don't enjoy getting made fun of by strangers. And you didn't even try to stand up for me."

"I didn't know what to do last night. I've never seen Baldur act like that. I was speechless." Gabriel didn't respond. "I took the day off. I was wondering if you could give me tour, I've never been inside."

"Yeah, okay. I can do that." She wasn't completely forgiven, but at least she was trying.

...

I am sosososososo sorry for not updating! I just had some personal issues and then I needed to start over from scratch on the chapter because of emotional issues and soo here we are!

But the next two chapters will come quite quickly so I feel good about that!

im having issues updating... blegh

~RandomActsOfSambriel~


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